The Visit
by Lenora
Summary: Agent Sadusky has received word that Ben Gates has been visiting Ian Howe in prison…what could the two of them be up to? Sadusky is determined to find out…


Disclaimer: I do not own _National Treasure_ nor any of the characters. They belong to the companies involved in their creation, I just love them and will return them when I'm done playing with them.

A/N: I got this idea when I was watching _National Treasure 2_, but this will be spoiler free. Also, I know crap about the inner workings of the prison system, so if I'm wrong on any point, forgive me.

Summary: Agent Sadusky has received word that Ben Gates has been visiting Ian Howe in prison…what could the two of them be up to? Sadusky is determined to find out…

Author: Lenora

Rating: Right in between K+ and T…

**The Visit**

Agent Sadusky frowned at the missive in his hand. Ian Howe was being released on parole early on account of his "good behavior" while in prison. If he had his way, Howe would remain in prison, but even he couldn't stop the legal system.

"Sir?" Sadusky's young assistant said, knocking on the door while opening it. "I received the notice about Howe's release, and the prison sent over some interesting info."

"What is it?" Sadusky asked, putting the notice down on his desk.

"Sir, Ben Gates has been visiting Howe," the young agent said.

Sadusky leaned foreword. "Has he now? This I have got to see," he said, standing up.

The two agents made their way to the audio/visual lab where the tech already had the videos from the prison ready for viewing. The first video was labeled the week after Howe's arrest.

XxXxX

_Ben Gates was escorted to the visiting room by a guard. He shook off the grip on his arm when he noticed that Ian was already waiting on the other side of the glass. A shocked look was on the Englishman's face as he stared at the other man._

_The two men reached for the phones at the same time. "Ben," Ian breathed, amazement coloring his accent. "What are you doing here?"_

"_You look good," Ben stated, his eyes taking in Ian's appearance._

"_So do you," Ian said, affection coloring his words. "So I hear you found the treasure," he said, his voice suddenly flat._

_Ben nodded. "It was…everything we dreamed it would be," he said quietly. _

"_How much was the finder's fee?" Ian asked quietly._

_Ben smiled slightly, trust Ian to ask about the money first. "They offered us ten percent," he said. "But we took one. One for me, Dad, Riley…Abigail," he stumbled over her name. "And one for you. I had it put in your account for when you get out."_

_Ian stared at his former partner in amazement. "I can't believe you would keep to our bargain after I left you to die," he said. He didn't wait for a response before speaking again. "So…judging by your stumble earlier, you have fallen for the lovely Dr. Chase," he said, his voice strangely controlled._

"_Ian-" Ben started to speak, but was interrupted._

"_Guard, I'm done," Ian said, not looking away from Ben's eyes. "Have a good life Ben."_

XxXxX

Agent Sadusky stared at the computer screen thoughtfully after the interview video stopped playing. He sensed some hidden message in the words Ian Howe spoke last to Ben Gates.

"Why would Gates secure a finder's fee payment for Howe after Howe betrayed him?" the A/V tech asked.

"Because he's honorable," Sadusky said. "Any more visits?"

"Just one," the tech replied. "It's dated two weeks ago. No visits between then; but according to the prison, Gates and Howe had been exchanging letters in the three year gap between visits."

"Put the next tape in," Sadusky ordered.

"Yes Sir."

XxXxX

_Ben Gates was escorted by a guard into a room much different than his last visit. It was an open room with tables filled with other prisoners. Every once and a while, a prisoner would leave with their visitor into a separate room._

"What is this?" Sadusky asked, watching Gates on the screen.

"Conjugal visit," the younger agent said.

_Ben was sat at a table to wait while another guard fetched Ian. Ben watched the couples leaving and entering the room while he waited._

"_Ben," greeted the accented voice of Ian Howe._

_Ben stood up and he pulled the Englishman into a hug. "It's so good to see you," he said quietly._

"_I missed you too," Ian said, clinging to Ben fiercely._

_The two quickly settled at the table and for a moment, they didn't know what to say. Ian however found a way to break the silence. "How's Abigail?" he asked, curious as to how Ben's girlfriend felt about Ben's visiting him._

"_She kicked me out," Ben said sadly. "She found the letters."_

"_Oh," Ian said, looking incredibly uncomfortable. "I'm sorry," his voice conveying his sympathy. "I never meant to cause you pain."_

"_It was inevitable I suppose. I was just deluding myself with her," the other man said. His eyes moved up so that they were looking directly into Ian's eyes. "She's a beautiful woman, meant for a man that can love her. I just can't be that man because my heart already belongs to someone," he said, his eyes not wavering from Ian's eyes._

_A beautiful smile erupted onto Ian's face and he reached for Ben's hand, leading the other man into one of the rooms set aside._

XxXxX

"That's enough," Sadusky said, blushing slightly. He now knew why Gates had been visiting Howe, so he had no further need to worry about Howe's release. It was clear to him that Ian had been successfully caught by Gates.

XxXxX

Ben Gates frowned as he picked through the mail. He was _still_ getting mail addressed to Abigail six months after she moved out of the house Ben bought with his share of the finder's fee. His frown deepened when he noticed an envelope addressed to both Ben and his lover Ian Howe. And what was more perplexing was the fact that it came from the FBI.

Ben ripped it open immediately and his frown slowly turned into a grin.

_Gates,_

_Congratulations. I wish you and Howe the best._

_Sadusky_

Fin


End file.
